Flying U.S. airlines to int'l destinations - how are in-flight services these days?
 

I'm booking flights to Asia and the flights are extremely long, which makes in-flight services important. I flew Continental from Europe to the States in December, and the services were absolutely horrible - the movie selection was bad, and you had to start watching at the same time as everyone else (in other words it wasn't a personal IFE system). Also food was terrible ("Beef or chicken?") and no wine.

United and American are coming up with pretty low fares for my Asia itinerary - can anyone comment on their in-flight services, particularly to Asia?

Thanks!

mp413

I'm assuming you're flying in coach.

It would be helpful if we knew where you were flying from and flying to. Different airlines fly to different countries.

One good way to find out is to go to their web sites and see what they offer.

For the past 2 years or so, AA has been charging for alcoholic drinks on international flights.

If you're looking for FF miles, AA has partner airlines in JAL and Cathay Pacific to Asia. The services on these planes are better than AA.

Thanks - sorry I should have specified that I will be flying IAH-BKK in coach.

thanks!

Note it is not easy to tell exactly but if you can figure out the likely type of aircraft (by looking up an indicative reservation on line) you can use www.seatguru.com to check at least amenities such as on board entertainment systems. Not food service though. And in coach on AA and United international, it's not that there is likely no wine, just that you have to pay for it. So bring your own food. If the airfare is cheap enough you can bring a gourmet picnic and still save big bucks. (Note food is subject to security liquids restrictions coming into the airport of course.)

All Continental aircrafts that go from Europe to US has personal screens now. The last of the 41 757-200s that didn't have personal screen is in the shop getting AVOD. [I was <b>inside</b> that aircraft two days ago, with all the old seats gone, all interior panels and fixures removed, while getting the new system. I will show pictures later on.]

On the 767s and 4 777-200s, you have 9 channel of videos that run on a loop. So, you do have a choice.

On the 757-200s and 15 of the 777-200s, you have AVOD with large 9&quot; screens with dozens (752s) or hundreds (772s) of movies and other video programs to choose from.

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United has personal screens on the 777s (but not AVOD), while only large communal screen for everybody on the 747s.

American has personal screens on their 772s (but not AVOD), and they don't fly to BKK. You'll be on some other partner or codeshare carriers.

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Most carriers in the world is still two main choices for economy in coach. So, while CO's food is usually fairly bad, I don't see what's the problem with &quot;beef or chicken?&quot; per se.

Wine is $5 for most US carriers anyways, except DL which give you one drink free, or NW (free to Europe only).

Hey rkkwan, thanks for the replies to this and other posts.

On CO I did have a personal screen - it just ran on a loop, which is not ideal. On 8+ hr flights, AVOD is crucial! By definition a system that runs on a loop can't be &quot;AVOD&quot; (which means ON DEMAND).

Thanks a lot for the info about specific aircraft!

Regarding the &quot;Beef or chicken&quot; - it's just that on European/Asian airlines they try to 'spice things up' a bit by describing the dish in a but more euphemistic detail. In comparison, that selection sounded extremely unappetizing :) In the olden days you would get a menu - even in coach class - describing the dish in detail, and proper silverware. These days you get that on most airlines EXCEPT American ones. Shame!

rkkwan offered a pretty exhaustive rundown.

One thing I would bear in mind would be that, for something like $350, you can buy access to United's Economy Plus, for you and a companion - this lasts for a year. This will give you 34&quot; to 36&quot; of legroom, which is an appreciable step up from the normal 31&quot; to 32&quot; configuration.

Another advantage, at least to my mind, on both the AA and UA 777s is that they have a 2-5-2 layout, rather than the 3-3-3 layout. This is great when traveling with a companion. Even when traveling alone, it is much better to share with one person than two.

As for service and food quality, most of the Asian carriers are almost certainly better than the US carriers, but it is still airline food, and service is still highly variable. I strongly disagree that the European carriers are appreciably better at either food or service in the back of the plane.

Myself, I always seek out the most comfortable routing and equipment. I don't really worry about service in coach. I just go in with low expectations, and get food in the airport, and am usually pretty happy with that. As for booze, just set aside $xx for your drinks and add it to the cost of the ticket. Then compare the prices again.

Really? I flew KLM to Africa last year, one of the best airline meals ever (some kind of Asian-inspired theme). We were given a menu and two nice-sounding options, proper silverware, etc. Same on Alitalia last year, got a lovely smoked salmon tramezzini on a 1.5-hr flight! Sorry but that was just miles above Continental's plain &quot;beef or chicken&quot; option. (I won't even get into the &quot;hot sandwiches&quot; and &quot;snack boxes&quot;!)

Thanks for the info about United's Premium Economy - living abroad it wouldn't be worthwhile for me.

And I have had genuinely awful food on Alitalia, Air France, KLM, and SAS. And I've had decent food on Continental and even Northwest. You could of course, flip the airlines around - the worst meal I have ever had on a plane, for example, was on Northwest, in Business class, no less. Of the airlines I flew last year, only Delta came close to providing something consistently decent, occassionally even offering something that might be called good.

My point is that I have yet to find a European carrier that consistently provides good food and good service, at least to a point where I could begin to count on it. And, if it is the same crap shoot that it is with the US carriers, then why choose based upon it? Choosing based upon schedule and equipment is a lot more certain. But to each their own.

mp413 - If you read my earlier reply carefully, I never said you got AVOD. I'm saying that CO has two types of planes that have AVOD for US-Europe flights, and others have 9 channels of looped video.

And 9 channels of looped video is by defintional &quot;personal entertainment&quot;, even if you think otherwise.

And BTW, since you asked about flying to Asia, I should add that Continental's longhaul flights from US to Japan, Hong Kong and China do have printed menus and towel services in coach; which is not the case for its Trans-Atlantic service.

Thanks rkkwan that is good to know, although CO's fares aren't making it competitive in my search. Yes movie selection on a loop is personal entertainment, but it's not on demand which makes a big difference when you're on a long flight! Your run-down with the different aircraft is really helpful for future reference, I'm sure it will be to many others.

travelgourmet - I can say without hesitation that I always get better food and entertainment on non-U.S. airlines. No comparison! Service, on the other hand - our flight attendants are among the friendliest in the world. (I'm American!)

rkkwan -- it is hard to keep up with the changes but .....
......Wine is $5 for most US carriers anyways, except DL which give you one drink free, or NW (free to Europe only)......

This past New Years we were on DL to Madrid and wine was $5. On the return from Malaga one wine was free. That created a serious problem as we had brought four half bottles of wine on board with us for dinner.

The free drink on DL is only with the meal and only includes beer or wine.

You should also be careful about BYOB on an airplane. Things may be different on an international flight, but for a US flight, at least, all alcohol must be served by a flight attendant.

In coach, there were no free drinks (beer or wine) with meals on the Delta leg from Atlanta to Madrid. Maybe the crew forgot to read the policy manual for the day. Wine was offered on the Malaga to New York leg. As for BYOB, it is call being very discreet.

Here is what you can expect from a European airline (like KLM, SAS, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian..) in coach class on intercontinental flights:

- Free drinks for ap&eacute;ritif.
- A choice of beer and wine with your meal.
- After the meal, a choice of digestifs and liqueurs.

If you ask you can get more than one drink (e.g. a longdrink AND a beer or two bottles of wine with your meal) and after service has stopped you can walk to the galley and get more booze.

It is absolutely possible to get completely drunk within two hours - in order to fall fast asleep to the remainder of the flight. IMO, this is priceless on intercontinental flights when you have to fight the jetlag.

The original post was inquiring about Am airlines. The foreign airline are still providing a little higher level of service. I actually received a free beer in coach on Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Rome last summer. Two summers ago we trouble getting water with ice on a USAir flight to Rome. Service on AM airlines is zero on domestic flights and near zero on international.

<i>Here is what you can expect from a European airline (like KLM, SAS, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian..) in coach class on intercontinental flights:</i>

You clearly don't fly SAS much... On a recent CPH-BKK flight, I was told, and I quote: &quot;get your drink now, because we won't be back again&quot;. This was in about hour 1 of an 11-hour flight. True to their word, I didn't see them come around until breakfast (which was inedible). This is about normal, in my experience, with SAS (which charges for water on intra-European flights). They are not a high-service airline by any stretch of the imagination. I can see no reason to choose SAS over the better American carriers. The best thing they have going for them is 10k mile gate upgrades from coach to economy plus.

As for KLM, the motto is &quot;that is not possible.&quot; That being said, I find their service decent, but cannot, in good conscience, recommend one fly on their 747s or their MD-11s. Both are among the most uncomfortable planes in the sky. The 777 isn't far behind.

Great, just what we need: Drunks on the plane.


&quot;It is absolutely possible to get completely drunk within two hours - in order to fall fast asleep to the remainder of the flight. IMO, this is priceless on intercontinental flights when you have to fight the jetlag.&quot;

Travelgourmet - once again your outnumbered in your personal opinion regarding Europeans vs American airlines.

Its nonsense, you keep saying

Geordie

andrews, let me guess:

Mormon, 7th Day Adventist, Baptist or just the average puritan American who still dreams of prohibition?